"Into Darkest Night"
RATED: PG-13 for violence and elf torture
SUMMARY: The Quest had failed and the Ring reclaimed. Sauron used his power to cover all the world in darkness. But even when all seemed lost, a glimmer of hope was rekindled in the form of Legolas. AU. Warning: Violence and elf torture.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not own any of the following characters, places, or ideas. Everything remains the property of the great writer J.R.R. Tolkien and possibly New Line Cinema to some extent. I make absolutely nothing from this story that I can use to pay the bills, but I do it solely for the pleasure of writing and in hopes that I can entertain you, dear readers. So please, feed the ego of a writer and submit a review! Oh yes, and since this is an Alternate Universe story, liberties will be taken. Just thought I would forewarn you all before you all come out and yell at me. grin
LOTR…LOTR… LOTR…LOTR… LOTR…LOTR… LOTR…LOTR…LOTR…LOTR… LOTR…LOTR…LOTR…
"Let the Lord of the black land come forth! Let justice be done upon him!"
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf slowly backed away as the black gates of Mordor creaked open. The cracked dirt beneath their feet trembled, playing witness to the army that still remained hidden, for the moment, from their view. Inch by inch the gates opened until an opening wide enough for several people to pass through together was made. A fear stole over the hearts of the gathered army of Gondorians and Rohirrim. Out of the gloom emerged a figure on horseback, clad in black mail and dull armor, sword hanging from his hip. In one hand was a small bundle which was promptly thrown at the four members of the Fellowship. In his heart, Legolas felt sick, perceiving some awful revelation within the dirty bag.
"A message from Sauron," was all that the disfigured being said.
Aragorn stooped to pick up the bag, opening it once he stood tall. A gasp of horror escaped the man's lips and he dropped the bag, which hit the ground with a dull thud. Then two objects rolled forth and Legolas saw what the contents of the bag were. For there on the ground, staring back at him with blank eyes, were the heads of two hobbits, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
Frodo and Sam were dead. The Fellowship had failed. In his heart, Legolas knew that the ring was with Sauron. The world would fall, he suddenly realized.
Now the gates were fully opened, and the full extent of Sauron's hidden army was laid bare. The warriors, disheartened by the sudden shift that they perceived in Aragorn's mood, drew their swords hesitantly. But Aragorn unsheathed Anduril defiantly. And so the battle began.
It did not take long for the small army of Gondor and Rohan to become utterly outnumbered and severely beaten. Within an hour, orcs with the help of mountain trolls had cut the number of Aragorn's company down to less than half of what they had begun with. Prince Imrahil and King Eomer of Rohan were dead. Gandalf lay torn and bleeding upon the battlefield, the life slowly fading from him. Aragorn, in an effort to save those that he could, called a retreat and to the surprise of all, the enemy did not give chase.
It was perhaps, that Sauron was once again overconfident in the position that he had gained. His ring was found and his adversaries on the run. The heir of Elandil still lived, it was true, but the dark lord had other plans in store of the King of Gondor. Once he gained enough power, he would deal with Aragorn personally.
The world became covered in shadow. Orcs and other fell creatures roamed the lands freely, killing and destroying at will. The dwarves, in an effort to save themselves, dug far deeper into the mountains than they had ever dared before. But orcs too, could thrive in the darkness of the world of rock and stone, and soon rooted out the dwarves, who were brought in large groups to work building camps for Sauron. In these camps the elves were soon corralled and the agents of Sauron tortured them and began the long and painful process of turning the fair Firstborn into the ruined race of the orcs. But this came too late for Sauron to lay hold of the three elven rings of power, for Legolas had taken the ring that Gandalf had born and turned it over to Elrond after the retreat from the black gate. Then the three had been destroyed, though Legolas did not know in what manner that came to pass. Instead, he had traveled Middle Earth, racing against time to gather whomever of the free folk of Arda that he could, for though they had suffered defeat once, the remaining members of the Fellowship were not going to submit to the will of Sauron. The Final Alliance of the Free Folk banded together to make a stand against Sauron.
Once again the army gathered at the front gate of Mordor, Aragorn, heir of Numenor, heading them all, for he still held the blade that had originally cut the ring from Sauron's hand.
The battle was long and bloody. Both sides lost many of their allies to the cruel bites of sword and arrow. Then in the gloom of the darkened sky, a figure strode forth in shining black armor with a helm almost too terrible to behold. Sauron, his full form regained, had come meaning to end the battle. The legions of orcs and trolls made way as he passed among their ranks. From across the field, Legolas could see the dark lord picking a path to where Aragorn stood. It took several long moments for the elf to battle his way through the din to the man's side, but by then he was too late. Aragorn, raising Anduril high, smote Sauron, and the ring was severed from his body, much like Isildur had done. But this was not before Sauron was able to deal a death stroke of his own. For even as the Gondorian struck out with Anduril, Sauron had brought his own sword down, letting the dull metal blade slice the sinews that bound the man's head to his shoulders.
At that moment, several things happened. Sauron crumbled to the ground, destroyed by the sudden loss of his ring, though all knew that he was not defeated. The eight remaining Nazgul had come, riding upon fell dragon-like beasts, heading fresh legions of orcs and trolls. Groups of oliphant riding Harradrim rushed the Final Alliance from the opposite direction. And in the confusion, the ring was lost.